Hoi An: Vietnam

Sleepy wee Hoi An, one of the most charming town/cities I’ve come across in Vietnam. Preserved by its government to only allow traffic through the town at certain times of the day the quaint ville is home to vintage push bikes. The government have also prevented the building of any skyscrapers, large buildings or the influx of any ‘chain’ shops/restaurants which obviously keeps a lot of the money within the local economy which really shows when comparing the average state of housing with that of Saigon or Nha Trang.

I spent two days in Hoi An, admiring the work of the hundreds of tailors, drinking Vietnamese coffee at the markets with the locals, pondering the local artwork and taking a trip down the Hoi An river. You can definitely feel the French influence in Hoi An especially if you look up high and noticed the preserved architecture of some of the older buildings.

Hoi An’s town beach is inundated with peddlers and tourists so I’d been reccommended to check out Am Bang beach for something a little bit different (and quieter). We hired a scooter and travelled just 4km out of the town to the beach which was definitely worth it, super quiet with a small selection of cute wee restaurants along the beach front. I sampled fresh spring rolls incorporating fresh shrimp straight from the South China Sea in front of me from ‘Soul Kitchen’ (a french restaurant) which was magnifique !!